TX Radio: Chip Howard Observes 20-Years As Sports Talker

Chip Howard

Twenty years ago Brazos Valley listeners got their first local sports talk radio show.

More than 4,000 shows later, Chip Howard's SportsTalk has maintained its "six loyal listeners," Howard joked minutes before going on the air.

The Eagle reports, the two-hour show, airing weekdays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on KZNE 1150 AM The Zone, has evolved to include more than just sports talk. Guests range from R.C. Slocum to Weird Al Yankovic and the author of Howard's latest read.

"I try to entertain myself every day," Howard said. "If I'm not entertained and engaged in the subject matter, I certainly can't ask other people to be. I talk about things that interest me."

Station manager Ben Downs credited the success of the show to Howard doing just that.

"When you've been on the radio as long as Chip has, you find that your interests tend to reflect that of your community," Downs said. "I can't imagine another sports station featuring an 'Entertainment Segment' with the inimitable Krista. I'm sure people listen and wonder what our plan was for segments like that, but that presupposes planning happened."

"In my experience, you have to go back 40 years to find radio stations that embraced an eclectic mix of content like tips for catching Red Fish to educating Krista about Sir Lawrence Olivier," he added. "It's local radio with all its quirks on a pedestal."

While the show has evolved over its two-decade existence, some things never change. Howard still sells his own ads, spending half his time working on the business side and the other half preparing the show.

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